DR. WALLACE: I live on the West Coast, and I'm a high school guy who's 17. I'm starting to think about future jobs, and one of my uncles who lives in New York told me over the summer that Hollywood is having a shortage of stuntmen these days. He said that I would have to be 18 to apply for a job with one of the major studios in the Los Angeles area. My uncle in New York is a writer, so he doesn't have any direct experience in the stunt industry, but apparently a couple of his scripts have been sold over the years.

How do I get experience so that I can get a job in this industry? I've never really ridden motorcycles or horses, and the only thing I've ever jumped off of was a trampoline, and I almost broke my arm last year when that happened. It sounds really cool, and I'd love to get hired, but I don't know where to get started. Any ideas? — Sounds Like a Great Job, via email

SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT JOB: I'm not sure if I'd be giving you good career advice if I encouraged you to "practice" anything at all in an effort to get hired in this specific niche industry you've mentioned. Not only is it dangerous, but it's something that takes a lot of experience, courage and talent to pull off. Think about it for a moment: The shortage in the industry for these workers is likely for a very good reason.

If you were a family member of mine, I would suggest that you look for other avenues to enter the entertainment industry, as there are many possible jobs to strive for, including quite a few behind the scenes.

No matter what decision you ultimately make, I feel one of the keys is to absolutely seek out a mentor, someone who is working in the industry, who can give you practical advice and explain the good and bad points of any particular job. This holds true across all industries, not just the entertainment industry, or something as specific as trying to become a stuntman.

MY HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEART IS SLOWLY TURNING SOUR

DR. WALLACE: I've been dating my high school "sweetheart" ever since we were juniors at the same high school. Now we're both attending the same college, but our academic careers are moving in vastly different directions. I'm well on my way to earning my four-year degree in my chosen field. On the other hand, he complained about a lot of his classes last year and actually dropped out of two of them. He's only signed up for two classes the first semester of this new school year, and he doesn't regularly attend either one of them!

The reason he cuts classes so much is that he has become quite lazy and prefers to smoke pot rather than focus on his education. Underneath it all, he's a good guy, and I definitely have feelings for him, but at this point I'm holding down a part-time job, taking a full slate of classes and paying for every meal out we have together plus any special events we attend.

How can I get him back on track as quickly as possible? It's beyond frustrating to see him giving up or simply not caring much about planning for his future career. — Frustrated by His Slacking, via email

FRUSTRATED BY HIS SLACKING: Your letter did not mention what his chosen career field was originally when he entered college. But whatever it was, he seems to have abandoned it fairly quickly. It could be that he either lost interest in the field he was planning to study in, or he's finding the course material too difficult to keep up with and therefore is withdrawing from being a serious student.

So that's my starting point, to find out what happened and why he's no longer sticking to his educational game plan. Next, to sit at home, not earn any money, smoke marijuana and have you pay for everything sounds like a comfortable life for him and not a good one for you. You absolutely have the right to set boundaries and expectations. I'll leave that up to you as to how you wish to handle that aspect of what's going on with him.

One thing you could suggest to him is that if he's having a really hard time in college, he may want to change his career path and attend a trade school. Trade schools are exploding all over the nation, and some excellent-paying jobs are available to those who are willing to work hard and learn a valuable trade. At this point, you also have decisions to make, namely if you plan to enable him now and into the foreseeable future, or if you're going to have a heart-to-heart discussion with him about his current path and your potential future together.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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